


Turnabout

by sartiebodyshots



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: F/M, Prompt Memes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 17:59:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14720906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sartiebodyshots/pseuds/sartiebodyshots
Summary: On the road to nowhere in particular, Branlin and Lou can take their time and make camp whenever they find somewhere nice to spend a night.





	Turnabout

**Author's Note:**

  * For [beammetothemoon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beammetothemoon/gifts).



> Moony prompted "a kiss …to shut them up." I was super happy to oblige, thank you <33

The sun hangs low in the sky when they make camp.  On the road to nowhere in particular, they can take their time and make camp whenever they find somewhere nice to spend a night.  

Long stretches of silence fill their days, which is surprisingly pleasant.  It’s funny how two people can be silent, but still, somehow, having a conversation of sorts.  

There are a lot of things that are funny like that with Branlin.

Of course, it’s not all silence.  There’s plenty of chatter as they go from place to place: comments on the things they see, or where they might be going, or where they had been before they met. 

Lou learns that Branlin grew up in a university, which turns out to not to be a surprise.  Branlin also has a tendency to- putting it plainly- lecture. Traveling with Branlin is kind of like traveling with one of his tutors, in that regard, at least.

So it’s not surprising when she ends up giving Lou a crash course on the most prominent arcanists during the golden age of evocation (anything involving evocation seems to be a particular favorite of hers- also not a surprise) while they're camping for the night.  

The fire is crackling warmly in the background as she talks, but that warmth is overshadowed by the pure excitement that radiates off every part of her.  Her hands wave in big loops to accentuate her points, and her eyes sparkle as she elaborates.

Usually Lou is a good student; her excitement is catchy, and she has a whole host of stories that wouldn’t be out of place in a bard’s song.  He takes solid mental notes; he wants to be able to keep up with her, or at least come as close as he’s capable of.

Today, though…

Lou is tired from a long day on the road.  He doesn't have his usual focus, not to mention he’s a bit distracted by the fact that her usually impeccable braid is starting to come out.  Loose strands of brown hair frame her face, and her voice rolls over him so  _ soothingly _ .  It’s hard to keep up.

“And so a lot of historians  _ think  _ that means that Julep the Unjust wasn't a skilled evoker, but that's not true.  What actually-”

It’s a bit of an impulse, but he leans over and presses his lips to hers.  He quite likes kissing her, and she had given him leave to kiss her whenever the mood struck him, after all.  

Her lips are moving in the most peculiar way against his; it takes him a moment to realize that she’s still talking.  She’s talking into the kiss. She’s giving him a lecture while he’s kissing her, and it just makes Lou smile into the kiss and smile wider when he pulls away.  Of course.

“-he was just a bit more discreet about his abilities than a lot of evokers tend to be.  We’re a flashy bunch,” Branlin continues on.

Though she continues speaking as if nothing had happened, her face blushes red.  Her smile is even wider than it was previously- good to know that, perhaps, she likes him nearly as much as she likes the wonders of history.  

“You’ll have to try harder to get me to stop talking, darling,” Branlin says, when she’s finished her thought.  “I taught people who were much older than me, after all, and sometimes they wouldn’t want to listen right away.” 

There’s an undercutting of truth somewhere in there, despite her light, laughing tone.  Lou rushes to correct her interpretation of events.

“I love listening to you talk, my dear- I must say, I have never learned more, quicker- but today, I was just too tired and too distracted to pay you the close attention you deserve,” Lou explains.  “You did tell me I should kiss you as often as I’d like to.”

Branlin’s smile softens.  “So you were just seizing the initiative, hm?”

Lou nods eagerly, pleased at her return to happiness.  “Of course, my dear! There are few things as pleasing as the sound of your voice.  In fact, I-”

Branlin surges upwards, pressing her lips against his.  It’s quick, and over before Lou gets through three more words, but they’re still both grinning like fools afterwards.

“-anything so sweet.”

“Turnabout is fair play, right?” Branlin says, biting her lip as she cups Lou’s cheek.  

Her hand is cool against his cheek, and Lou leans into her touch instinctively.  She’s gazing up at him with warm affection. 

“We are both really hard to shut up, aren’t we?” Branlin says with a laugh.  

“Of course we are, my dear!” Lou proclaims.  “We both have such important things to say after all.”

Branlin shifts so she’s kneeling beside Lou on the log they’re sitting on, and Lou watches her curiously.  She slides her hand so she’s cupping his neck instead of his cheek, and presses a soft kiss to his cheek. 

After lingering there for a moment, Branlin shifts again and presses her lips against Lou’s.  She’s gentle, careful as she kisses him. It’s a long and lazy kiss that neither of them are talking through, for once.  

“You are certainly right, darling.”


End file.
